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January 17th, 2010

When mixed, large type and beautiful images always get me. This project by Studio 8 blends the two together to form a beautiful booklet. It’s aim is to raise awareness about the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. The booklet is made from only one sheet of FSC certified paper, folding out from the cover into a 12-page concertina, maximizing the sheet usage and minimizing waste.

January 13th, 2010

Nikon’s 140 second film festival has been going on for a while now but now the submissions are closed and 50 finalists have been chosen. The final submissions will be judged by Chase Jarvis, Rainn Wilson and Justine Ezarik (iJustine) for the judges award of $100,000 but the audience award of $25,000 is really up to us–the persons video with the most views and highest rating will win this award.

Some of the submissions seem to stray from the original “your day” submission guideline and more towards a video showing off their work, but nevertheless they’re nicely done. The videos above, the first by Skill Lab and the second by Josh Friedberg, are my two favorites. Both are creative ways to look at your day. The the first “numbers” video especially. You can still see/know what is going on even though you’re only seeing a closeup shot.

Mozy on over to NikonFestival.com to watch a bunch more of the submissions. They are inspiring and may quite possibly spark some ideas for you.

January 11th, 2010

So you’re about to start the best project in the world and are thrilled to have it in your portfolio. Fast-forward twenty days and you’re now wishing that you’d never agreed to do this project because your client has forgotten why they hired you as a designer–to build something really great. It’s safe to say that that most of us in the industry have experienced a similar situation. Feel free to vent your story in the comments.

January 8th, 2010

Smith House in West Vancouver, British Columbia, designed 1964

Catton House in West Vancouver, British Columbia, designed 1967

Graham House in West Vancouver, British Columbia, designed 1962

Helmut Eppich House in West Vancouver, British Columbia, designed 1972

Helmut Eppich House interior

Castanier House in Kelowna, British Columbia, designed 1996

Montiverdi Estates in West Vancouver, British Columbia, designed 1979

Hugo Eppich House in West Vancouver, British Columbia, designed 1979

Arthur Erickson was an architect whose works reflect an appealing Pacific Northwest modernist theme. Some of his works include The Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, the Provincial Law Courts in Downtown Vancouver, the San Diego Convention Center, Napp Laboratories in Cambridge, England, the Canadian Chancery in Washington, D.C., California Plaza in Los Angeles, and most recently the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington.

The way he put different aspects of nature into his designs is inspiring. Bringing in certain elements such as the beam and post construction, variations of floor planes, the surrounding topography, viewing perspectives and light control. You can see it in each of the above images and his other works.

January 6th, 2010

So this has more than likely made its rounds but I can’t let it go unposted. I flew Alaska Airlines over the holidays and couldn’t help but notice just how shoddy the design is on their boarding passes. Actually, I’m not sure if I would even consider it a boarding pass. The stock it was printed on had very little weight to it. It felt as if I was holding a large receipt from Costco. Not to mention the design was not well thought out. The above example is from Delta, but you get the point.

Alex and I briefly discussed these boarding pass designs by Tyler Thompson and both agreed that they were visually pleasing but the use of the condensed type is a little harder to read. The layout, particularly the time, flight and seat number really stand out for me.

Read more about Tyler’s boarding pass solutionhere. Also check out Timoni Grone’s different approach here.

January 4th, 2010

Photo by The Dandy Warhols on Flickr

The tracks that I enjoy the most from The Dandy Warhols are the ones that probably have had the least amount of attention (with the exception of the third and fourth of this set). The first two tracks below, both without heavy vocals, seem to give off this worldly, almost meditative energy. Oddly enough I’ve found that I listen to them mostly when getting pumped up to go out and shoot photos or while editing photos. Also, ‘Sleep’ on high volume, is a great track to work to.

The Dandy Warhols – Mohammed from the Thirteen Tales album

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The Dandy Warhols – Sleep from the Thirteen Tales album

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The Dandy Warhols – Bohemian Like You from the Thirteen Tales album

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The Dandy Warhols – The Gospel from the Thirteen Tales album

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December 31st, 2009

Every winter in Idaho is different. Some winters you see lots of snow and some you don’t see more than a few inches. Going into the trip I had envisioned another great black & white series like last years Winter in Black & White but instead here are an eclectic group of color photos from the trip.

December 24th, 2009

I appreciate all of the support this year. I’m looking forward to next year and what we can make happen. Remember to sign up for the bloglist in case you missed it last month. Once again thank you for all of your support this year and have a happy holiday.

December 21st, 2009

The following design firms/agencies were chosen based on their work, not on their revenue or size. Four out of the five are graphic and web design focused leaving the remaining agency with roots solely in graphic design.
Experimental Jetset is an Amsterdam graphic design firm, founded in 1997 by Marieke Stolk, Erwin Brinkers and Danny van den Dungen. Their focus is on printed material and installation work. Experimental Jetset has worked on projects for Stedelijk Museum CS, Purple Institute, Centre Pompidou, Colette, Dutch Post Group and Musée d’Art Contemporain de Bordeaux with work featured in group exhibitions such as Terminal Five in JFK Airport (New York, 2004) and Riviera Gallery (New York, 2004). You may have seen some of Jetset’s work posted here on the blog this year.

Visit their site: Jetset.nl
Struck/Axiom is a full-service hybrid agency with offices in Salt Lake City, Los Angeles and Portland. Some of their clients include Botticelli, AIGA, Discovery, Ogio, Ski Utah, and Addidas. Although the majority of Struck’s portfolio appears to be web, they do have a print team in Salt Lake City that has put out some stunning pieces such as the Botticelli packaging.

December 15th, 2009

Even though Antisweden’s approach to fashion seems a little strange, they make up for it with beautiful typography. I really appreciate the last few images where they’re using the knocked out letter form to mask a floating image. You can see the floating image and mask in action on the Antisweden website.

December 14th, 2009

I’ve spent the majority of my time this past week drafting up logo ideas for a project. After putting out about 50 sketches and sifting back through them, I realized that I needed to focus on current logo trends before I continued. I dusted off one of my books that I found last year in downtown Seattle called Logology.

Logology is a very resourceful piece of visual literature to have on your shelf. It is an extensive collection spanning over 280 pages with logos and type treatments from many designers. At the beginning of the book it contains case studies. Each of the case studies shows the logo design process and the application. Logology is definitely worth picking up if you have an interest in logos.

If you have some spare moneys after procuring gifts from the designer’s gift guide, then give this book a home. It’s about $30 and comes with a gorgeous imprinted leather cover.

December 9th, 2009

It’s been quite some time since I’ve owned a watch and there’s a good reason for it. I seem to somehow always break the bands. Not to mention I don’t really check the time using the watch, I just use my iPhone. But recently I came across Rado, a Switzerland based, high quality watch company that designs these beautiful watches. I was about to snag one as a Christmas gift for my wrist, but then I caught a glimpse of price tag. Definitely hefty price (a good reason for leaving them off the designers gift list)–we’re talking four digits before the decimal. I’m certain that you’re getting what you pay for and probably a lifetime warranty, but the price doesn’t seem to come down when you put those to mind.

If you decide you want to have a closer look at their collection you can request their catalog. It’s printed in Switzerland and has a really good feel to it. Rado definitely takes their graphic design seriously–one of my favorite things about the Swiss.